Travel by book allows you to see the world without leaving home

One of the wonderful things about getting into a good book is the ability to feel like you’re traveling without ever leaving home. Some recent books I’ve read take you not only to new places, but different times as well.

I’m certainly not alone in having read Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall – it has sold more than one million copies and is a New York Times best-seller. Firmly grounded in its setting of a sheep farm in Dorset, England, the book takes you through farm life in the 1950s and 1960s – everything from lambing and time spent outside in the warm summer sun, to some of the harsher realities of an agricultural life – the book opens with a dog attacking livestock. The narrator, Beth, reflects throughout the book on her life and the choices she has made along the way, remembering a prior romance with a well-off young writer and how she ended up married to her gentle husband Frank instead. It’s soon revealed that there’s a court case at the heart of the book, and the author skillfully uses a dual timeline to create suspense, leaving the reader wondering how things turned out the way that they did. Without giving too much away, the book is at times warm and pastoral, but also tragic and heart-wrenching.

Also set – at least at first – in England, A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst is a nonfiction title look at an usual couple Maurice and Maralyn Bailey. Set in the mid-seventies, it tells the story of their quite unusual adventure. After living in a bungalow in Derby, England, they decided to cast off society’s expectations, sell their home, and buy a boat with a plan to head to sea. At first, they are having a wonderful time – meeting other travellers and seeing the world. But it’s not long before a terrible accident causes the ship to sink, leaving the two with just a raft and a dingy afloat in the sea. The story was well-publicized at the time, and the author refers to the couple’s own books and interviews, as well as their private diaries, to tell the story of what happened after that. The book takes you to England, to the sea, and to the past, and it’s quite a tale indeed.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is the tale of a 77-year old prolific letter writer. Although it’s set in the current day, her penchant for letter-writing makes it feel nostalgic throughout. It has been widely popular, and was named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, The Washington Post, and the Boston Globe. Through her letters, Sybil Van Antwerp makes sense of the world and connects with a wide range of people – from her friends and family, famous writers, corporations and more. It’s a charming novel and may just leave you itching to write your own letters.

No matter where you want to travel-by-book – to the past, an imagined future, or a faraway place, library staff are happy to help you discover the world through reading. Drop into any branch of the library for suggestions and recommendations.